After temporarily shaking off his pursuer with the ten-times-faster Vertical Earth Golden Light, Xiao Chen still didn’t dare to relax in the slightest.
He couldn’t guess if his pursuer would lie in wait for him on the eastern plains.
Nor did he know if he would run into them again on the way back to the sect in the West.
So, he abandoned the sect mission and chose to flee south.
To avoid being followed, Xiao Chen deliberately and randomly changed direction several times along the way.
For three days, he took no extra rest aside from short meditation sessions to recover his Magical Power.
In just three days, he had fled a full twelve hundred li.
Finally, he plunged into a vast, dense forest, found a patch of thick grass, and dropped to the ground, using the Sealing Acupoint Concealing Qi Technique to completely hide himself.
After a brief rest, he found a nearby cave to serve as his temporary site for Foundation Establishment.
Foundation Establishment is the first true bottleneck in cultivation!
Only after establishing one’s foundation can a person truly be set apart from mortals.
Xiao Chen sat cross-legged in meditation, clearing his mind of stray thoughts and striving to stabilize his mental state.
Until the eleventh day, at 5:00 AM.
This was the hour of Wood, and the opportune time had arrived.
He suddenly opened his eyes, feeling that his Essence, Qi, and Spirit had all been adjusted to their peak.
Xiao Chen reached into his Storage Bag and took out a full eight hundred Spirit Stones, arranging them into a bagua diagram according to the positions of Qian, Dui, Li, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Gen, and Kun.
Next, he cast a Golden Light Technique to seal the cave entrance.
He then took out the bottle of Cyan Wood Spirit Liquid left over from last time. He uncorked it, heated it with Spiritual Fire, and evaporated it into a large cloud of pale cyan mist.
The Wood Spiritual Qi and the total amount of Spiritual Qi inside the cave were forcibly raised to an extremely high level in a short time.
Though there was no Spirit Vein, he had artificially created a favorable environment.
He took out the Cyan Gourd and summoned two Cyan Wood Divine Generals to guard the entrance against any man-made disasters.
As much as possible, he had assembled the opportune time, a favorable environment, and harmonious support.
’Next up is the most critical step.’
Normally, one would consume a Foundation Establishment Pill at this point.
However, Xiao Chen instead took out five types of Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects in sequence.
The Spirit-Imbued Snow Lotus, the Mutated Lion Heart, the Thousand-Year Sword Bamboo, the Cyan Wood Essence, and the Wuji Spirit Soil.
According to the information he had obtained, the order in which he consumed the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects was also crucial.
Xiao Chen started by picking up the Fire Spiritual Object, the Mutated Lion Heart, and, opening his mouth wide, swallowed it raw in a few bites.
He immediately felt as if he had swallowed several burning coals.
Scorching Fire Spirit Power radiated from his abdomen, constantly scouring his physical body and burning away impurities. His skin all over began to turn red and hot.
HUUUFF—
A long plume of white smoke escaped as he exhaled.
Xiao Chen quickly grabbed the Wuji Spirit Soil and began to recklessly drain the Earth Spiritual Power from within it.
Doing so would completely destroy the Wuji Spirit Soil, but it would also yield a large amount of exceptionally pure Earth Spiritual Power.
As the Earth Spiritual Power poured into his body, the voids left behind by the scorching Fire Spirit Power were rapidly filled.
Xiao Chen hurriedly circulated his Cultivation Technique, simultaneously absorbing the surrounding Spiritual Qi to help refine his body.
At the same time, because Fire generates Earth, the original Fire Spirit Power also began to convert into Earth Spiritual Power.
By the time all the Fire Spirit Power had finished converting, the Wuji Spirit Soil in his hand had crumbled into a small pile of flowing sand, slipping through his fingers.
Xiao Chen immediately grabbed the Thousand-Year Sword Bamboo and repeated the process.
As he extracted the Gold Spiritual Power, he could clearly feel strands of Sword Qi escaping from it as well.
"Hiss... so painful!"
This Sword Qi flowed through his Meridians along with his Magical Power, causing immense pain even as it cleared them.
It was as if many Small Swords were stabbing wildly inside his body.
Although the protection of the Earth Spiritual Power prevented any real injury, the pain was no less severe.
In fact, as the Earth-generating-Metal conversion continued, the pain grew even more intense.
Xiao Chen timed it perfectly. The instant the conversion was complete, he dropped the withered Sword Bamboo and swallowed the entire Spirit-Imbued Snow Lotus.
The Spirit-Imbued Snow Lotus dissolved the moment it entered his mouth, flowing like a clear spring through his organs, limbs, and bones.
Wherever it passed, it greatly soothed the piercing pain of the Gold Spiritual Power.
It also effectively nourished Xiao Chen’s Magical Power, causing the total amount in his Dantian to completely surpass the limits of the ninth level of Qi Refining.
This Magical Power, in turn, began to help him undergo an even more effective Marrow Washing.